It's time to get crafty. "Tie dyeing" your nails lets you explore infinite patterns and colors, without extreme precision required. The water marbling method is the most dramatic, but it can be messy and waste a lot of polish. A couple less common alternatives are also described below.

Steps

Method1

Water Marbling

1

Apply your base coat. Any solid color will work as a base coat. Choose something that works with the other colors you'd like. Some of the base coat might peek through, especially on your first try at the tie dye.

Apply oil or cello-tape to your skin surrounding the nails. Brush cuticle oil or stick tape over your fingers from the nail to the first knuckle, on both sides.[1] This will stop polish from sticking to you — so don't let it touch the nail itself.

Nail polish isn't a great thing to eat. You might want to use an old bowl you can keep as a makeup container — or just wash it thoroughly afterward.

Place it over newspaper to catch spills.

4

Drop several colors of nail polish onto the water. Hold the nail polish wand over the water and let one drop fall. As soon as it spreads out a little, do the same with another color. Do this with at least three or four colors, making a series of concentric circles.

Do this quickly, as the polish can dry quickly on the surface of the water and ruin the effect.

Some nail polishes sink instead of float, and can't be used.[2] There's no way to tell in advance, but fortunately it's not a common problem.

If you can't get any nail polish to spread out, try using slightly colder water, or filtered water.

5

Draw swirls with a cocktail stick or toothpick. Lightly touch the surface with the stick, drawing lines through the polish. The stick will pull the design as it cuts through it, so you can create a tie dye pattern by drawing spirals. Keep drawing until you see a pattern you like.

It's best to touch down in the inner circles. The outer circles have already started to dry, so starting there can cause the polish to clump.

6

Dip your nail onto the design. Lower your nail over the part of the design you like most. If the nail polish is still runny, wait 10–30 seconds for it to set. Brush away the rest of the nail polish using your toothpick, then lift your finger straight up out of the water.

Wipe off your finger. The polish probably got onto your finger as well, but the oil or tape should stop it from sticking. If you used oil, wipe off your skin with a cotton swab. If you used tape, just wait until the polish dries, then peel off the tape.

Repeat with other nails. Brush aside the rest of the floating nail polish with your stick, then start again with new drops. Once your nails are all tie dyed and dried, cover with a top coat and set forth to show them off.

A couple coats of white base color will make the colors above it brighter.

2

Prepare to work quickly. Choose several colors of nail polish and unscrew the lids. Leave them loose in front of you so you can quickly switch between them. You'll need to move fast to make the pattern before the polish dries.

3

Dab a thick dot of nail polish. Dab a small circle onto one spot of your nail. The circle should be wet and thick enough to allow for some spreading later.

Dab on more dots of other colors. Working quickly, dab on dots of various colors until your nail is covered. It's up to you how many you want — three or four dots for a simple tie dye, or man dots for an impressionist effect.

Drag a toothpick through the wet polish. Place the point of the toothpick in the center of a circle. Drag it outwards in a straight line, spiral pattern, or other designs. As you drag it through the other colors, you'll leave a multicolored trail. Repeat with other areas of the nail, until you have a design you enjoy.

Squeeze off excess polish. Point your nail downward and squeeze the side and top edge with your thumb. Some of the polish should slide off your nail and onto your thumb, without ruining your design. This will help it dry more quickly.[4]

7

Wait for it to dry. This will take longer than you're used to, due to the thick coat. Once it's ready, cover in a top coat, peel off your tape, and admire your design.

Method3

Using a Tie Dye Top Coat

1

Buy a tie dye top coat. These replace your normal top coat with a colorful but translucent cover, letting swirls of color peek through. These can be hard to track down, so look online or at boutiques with a wide selection.

2

Apply a solid color nail polish. As you would normally, apply a base coat, then a solid coat of nail polish. Let this dry.

3

Brush on the tie dye top coat. Push harder when you want to make the top coat more opaque, and brush lightly when you want it transparent. By playing with the brush pressure you can make swirls, speckles, and other patterns.